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Martin "Marty" Castillo
This article is about the character from the television series. For the movie rendition, see Martin Castillo. Martin "Marty" Castillo (played by Edward James Olmos, b. 1947) is a Detective Lieutenant of the Metro-Dade Police Department and the Commander of the Organized Crime Bureau - Vice Division. Castillo is a former agent for the DEA, specializing in Southeast Asian operations, and a thorough investigator who would, on occasion, go into the field to stop drug cartels and other OCB-handled crimes. Castillo is very mysterious in his ways, always wearing black tie, white shirt, black sportscoat and black pants, taken to sleeping in his office on particularly difficult, complex (and sometimes personal) cases, speaking in a low tone unless angered, and has an icy staredown that he used on peers, superiors, and others to display his disappointment in a situation's outcome without words. Castillo's taciturn, rough exterior masked a compassionate, deeply caring man who was loyal to his team, often going out on a limb to help one or more of his detectives succeed in a case where departmental red tape prevented it, using his extensive network of contacts in government (both state and federal) for assistance. Life before Vice Not much is known about Castillo (he kept most details of his personal life private) except he worked in the DEA, mainly in the "Golden Triangle" region of Southeast Asia, trying to keep the drug trade from trafficking their product to America, but he constantly encountered resistance from the CIA, who had other agendas which required the drug dealers there to be left alone to advance other American interests. His biggest enemy was General Lao Li, who was working with a CIA agent named Dale Menton to maintain his drug empire, even arranging a hit on Castillo's forces by revealing his position and strength, and bombing his personal home, killing his then-wife, May Ying. He also worked with a CIA agent named Jack Gretzky (who would later name his son Marty). Several years earlier, he had teamed with a South Vietnamese policeman named Nguyen Van Tranh to investigate a series of prostitute murders in Saigon. His DEA training included martial arts skills, which Castillo displayed when necessary, especially against Asian adversaries. Joining Vice Castillo joined the Metro-Dade Organized Crime Bureau after the death of his predecessor, Lou Rodriguez (killed defending Sonny Crockett). His no-nonsense, by-the-book style clashed with the laid-back atmosphere of OCB. His immediate defense of Crockett against trumped-up charges of accepting bribes from racketeers won him the respect of the OCB team, and the team's loyalty to Castillo was never more evident than when the team volunteered to help their leader bring down General Lao Li, at the expense of their own caseloads. He is called "the glue that holds the team together". Career In Vice Castillo thoroughly investigated every case his team was involved in, using his many contacts to help break cases open. After bringing down the Lao Li cartel he arranged for Crockett & Rico Tubbs to go to New York and stop the Revilla drug cartel, helped stop a rash of bad cops in South Beach with his knowledge of the Santeria religion, protected his old friend Jack Gretzky's Russian wife & son from the KGB, worked with his Saigon ally Trahn (who in reality was a North Vietnamese soldier) to stop The Savage from continuing his 10+ year murder spree, but mainly let the team do their jobs, only involving himself when necessary, not being afraid to admonish the team if they didn't perform to his standards (including requesting their transfers after the Beaks case), but also praising the team for a good job. He was not afraid to go on the street to help the team, including going into prison to get Tubbs out of a bad situation, working undercover on a drug case because the dealer "didn't trust Anglos", and unwisely visited a politician alone because of a setup. His superiors didn't have a problem with his actions because of his experience. Personal Life Castillo was married once, to May Ying while in Southeast Asia (the marriage presumably annulled when she was assumed killed in the raid executed by Dale Menton & Lao Li's men). After discovering she was alive (and remarried with a young son) his feelings returned and he protected her & her husband from Lao Li's cartel. Later, her son was killed in a car accident involving a drunk driver, her husband Ma Sek began to blame her for everything, and turned to crime. He & Castillo fought over May Ying and Castillo arrested him for murder and other charges. Castillo never remarried nor had any other relationships, and protected his privacy fiercely, even from his team. Cars Castillo drove the standard police issue 1981 Plymouth Grand Fury, as he was rarely undercover. Weapons Castillo carried mostly revolvers over the run of the series, including a Colt Trooper MK V in .357 Magnum, a Smith and Wesson model 29 in .44 Magnum (as well as the Stainless version, the 629), and a Colt Python in .357. He used a Detonics ScoreMaster in the episode "The Prodigal Son". Castillo, like the other detectives used several auxillary weapons, such as various assault rifles and shotguns. Castillo was also trained in classical swordfighting, presumably while working with the CIA in the Far East. He uses a Katana to great effect in the episode "Bushido", using it to take down two highly trained KGB agents whilst himself suffering from a knife wound. Castillo also possesses significant martial arts abiltities, aptly demonstrated in "Golden Triangle (Part I)". Category:Miami Vice Characters